DROP INDEX

Name

Synopsis

Description

DROP INDEX drops an existing index
from the database system. To execute this command you must be the
owner of the index.

Parameters

CONCURRENTLY

Drop the index without locking out concurrent selects,
inserts, updates, and deletes on the index's table. A
normal DROP INDEX acquires
exclusive lock on the table, blocking other accesses until
the index drop can be completed. With this option, the
command instead waits until conflicting transactions have
completed.

There are several caveats to be aware of when using this
option. Only one index name can be specified, and the
CASCADE option is not supported.
(Thus, an index that supports a UNIQUE or PRIMARY
KEY constraint cannot be dropped this way.) Also,
regular DROP INDEX commands can be
performed within a transaction block, but DROP INDEX CONCURRENTLY cannot.

IF EXISTS

Do not throw an error if the index does not exist. A
notice is issued in this case.

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an index to
remove.

CASCADE

Automatically drop objects that depend on the index.

RESTRICT

Refuse to drop the index if any objects depend on it.
This is the default.

Examples

This command will remove the index title_idx:

DROP INDEX title_idx;

Compatibility

DROP INDEX is a PostgreSQL language extension. There are no
provisions for indexes in the SQL standard.